Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are ten (10) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Eighth Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not bear false witness.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2511
The Eighth Commandment, ‘You shall not bear false witness’ requires us to keep professional secrets, prejudged confidences of another as well as the sacramental seal of Confession. While Al Capone (+1947) was a ‘professional’ gangster his ‘professional secrets’ (which rivals to kill, when and where to set up brothels…) did not enjoy the protection of the Eighth Commandment. Col. Sanders’ “secret recipe” for frying chicken, and the “secret recipe” for Coca Cola however are protected by the Eighth Commandment. Doctor / Patient, Lawyer / Client privilege are also covered by this Commandment of God. To avoid rash promises to keep a secret the Catechsim insists that we pre-judge the confidences which we keep. We see this in counseling, ‘so long as you are not a danger to yourself or others…’ We are not to be gossips or telling the secrets of others (cf. Proverbs 11:13).
The 1983 Code of Canon Law (canon 983) highlights the importance of the sacramental seal of Confession, insisting upon its inviolability. The importance of this can not be underestimated. To bring this into clear perspective consider the many Martyrs of the Confessional. The Bohemian Saint John Nepomucene (+ 20 March, 1393) refused to tell King Wencesldaus IV what the Queen had confessed and was subsequently drowned by the King in the river Vltava. The Peruvian priest Father Pedro Marieluz Garces (23 September, 1825) was executed for not disclosing what had been confessed by Royal soldiers who had conspired against the Spanish Royal Governor Ramon Rodil. During the Mexican civil war Saint Mateo Correa Magallanes, a priest and Knight of Columbus, was martyred on 6 February 1927, for refusing to reveal the confessions of the Cristeros to whom he was ministering in Zacatecas and Durango. Blessed Father Felipe Ciscar Puig, a priest from Spain, was martyred during the persecutions there on 8 September, 1936, for protecting the seal of Confession. The biography With No Regrets relates the life of Father Francis Vernon Douglas (+1943) of New Zealand, who was a missionary to the Philippines and was tortured to death by the Japanese during the Second World War for refusing to violate the seal of Confession.
Alfred Hitchcock’s famous film I Confess (1953) prominently features the Seal of Confession and the priest-penitent privilege.
The God of Heaven and Earth knows the secrets of our hearts (cf. Daniel 2:22, 28; Romans 2:16). There are no secrets we can keep from God (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5). Because the Lord Jesus has revealed so many of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven we are to tell everyone all that He has commanded us (cf. Matthew 13:11; Mark 16:15; Luke 8:10). The faith is not a secret but should be shared with everyone (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr